Mexicans of European descent

European Mexicans are Mexican citizens of European descent.^[6] Mexico does not have a racial census, but estimates from different international organizations of this ethnic group as a segment of the country's population range from 9% according to The World Factbook to as high as 10-20% (approximately one-tenth to one-fifth) according to Encyclopædia Britannica.^[1][2] Another group in Mexico, the "mestizos", includes people with varying amounts of European ancestry, with some having a European admixture higher than 90%.^[7] However, the criteria for defining mestizo varies from study to study, and in Mexico a large number of white people have been historically classified as mestizos because the Mexican government defines ethnicity on cultural standards as opposed to racial ones.^[8]

Europeans began arriving in Mexico during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire; the descendants of the conquistadors and new arrivals from Spain formed an elite but never a majority of the population. Intermixing would produce a mestizo group which would become the majority by the time of Independence, but power remained firmly in the hands of the elite, called "criollo."^[6]

While most European migration into Mexico was Spanish during the colonial period, in the 19th and 20th centuries European and European-derived populations from North and South America did immigrate to the country. However, at its height, the total immigrant population in Mexico never exceeded one percent of the total. Many of these immigrants came with skills and money to invest and/or ties to allow them to become prominent in business and other aspects of Mexican society.

Distribution & estimates

Mexico’s northern regions have the greatest European population and admixture. In the northwest, the majority of the relatively small indigenous communities remain isolated from the rest of the population. The northeast region, in which the indigenous population was eliminated by early European settlers, became the region with the highest proportion of whites during the Spanish colonial period. However, recent immigrants from southern Mexico have been changing, to some degree, its demographic trends.^[2]

A 2014 publication summarizing population genetics research in Mexico, including three nationwide surveys and several region-specific surveys, found that in the studies done to date, counting only studies that looked at the ancestry of both parents: "Amerindian ancestry is most prevalent (51% to 56%) in the three general estimates, followed by European ancestry (40% to 45%); the African share represents only 2% to 5%. In Mexico City, the European contribution was estimated as 21% to 32% in six of the seven reports, with the anomalous value of 57% obtained in a single sample of 19 subjects. European ancestry is most prevalent in the north (Chihuahua, 50%; Sonora, 62%; Nuevo León, 55%), but in a recent sample from Nuevo León and elsewhere in the country, Amerindian ancestry is dominant."^[9]

Establishment of a European elite

The main reason for the presence of European-descended people in Mexico is the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century.^[10][11] by Hernán Cortés, his troops and the Tlaxcaltecs. There are stories about Moctezuma taking Cortés to be the return of the God Quetzalcoatl due to his light skin and light-colored hair and eyes, which had never been seen before by the people of Mesoamerica. However, this has been disputed. After years of war Cortés finally managed to conquer the Aztecs through a series of alliances with enemy tribes which in the end made the Spanish dominant politically (It must be noted that the Tlaxcalan people still were regarded as being of higher status and received better treatment compared to the other indigenous peoples of New Spain),^[12] although a very small minority numerically.^[10][13]

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, pioneer of the Mexican War of Independence, was like most of the independence leaders, of full Spanish ancestry.

Agustín de Iturbide, achiever of the Independence of Mexico, designer of the Mexican flag and emperor of México, was of Spanish/criollo origin.

Further migration into Mexico from Spain supplemented the numbers of ethnic Europeans during the colonial period.^[13] The conquest and subsequent domination by Europeans was justified by the Spanish as the indigenous were uncivilized and needed to be converted to Christianity. The Spanish language and culture was imposed with indigenous ones suppressed.^[10][14]

Enrique Creel was a businessman and politician.

The Mexican experience mirrors much of that of the rest of Latin America, as attitudes towards race, including identification, were set by the conquistadors and Spanish who came soon after.^[13] Through the colonial period, the Spanish and their descendants, called "criollos" remained outnumbered by the indigenous and "mestizos" or those of mixed Spanish and indigenous parents.^[10][14] To keep power, the Spanish and criollo elite perpetuated the idea of "Spanish" being equivalent to "civilized." The population of Mexico (or New Spain) was organized into a hierarchical class system with those from Spain being the most privileged, followed by criollos, then mestizos than the indigenous. Classification of this system was mostly by race, which was determined mostly by whom one descended from. The system was not completely rigid and elements such as social class and social relations did figure into it. However, the notion of "Spanishness" would remain at the top and "Indianness" would be at the bottom, with those mixed being somewhere in the middle. This idea remained officially in force through the rest of the colonial period.^[10] The Spanish racial class system known as casta, defined a person as "criollo" who was born outside Spain of at least seven-eighths European ancestry. This system was well documented in historical New Spain in particular.^[15]

El Hacendero y su Mayordomo (The Hacendero and his Butler). Painting by Carl Nebel, c. 1836

Criollo resentment to the privileges afforded the Spain-born or peninsulares was part of the reason behind the Mexican War of Independence. When the war ended in 1821, the new Mexican government expelled the peninsulares in the 1820s and 1830s. However, Independence did not do away with economic and social privilege based on race as the Criollos took over those of Spanish birth. A division between "Spanish" and "indigenous" remained despite a majority mestizo or mixed-race population. However, biological features were often not enough to distinguish between the two in many cases and some mixing occurred even in the upper classes. The main distinction between criollos and mestizos became money and social class and less about biological differences. The Criollos distinguished themselves from the rest of society as the guardians of Spanish culture as well as the Catholic religion.^[16]

Those considered to be white/criollo/European were never the majority of the country’s population, reaching a peak at around 18% during the early 19th century, according to census records. By 1921, the last time the official census took race into account, about ten percent were considered to be "white."^[6] This is one reason why many of the political struggles of the latter 19th and early 20th centuries would be between these elite and the majority mestizos.^[14]

In today's society

While the concept of race is relatively fluid, with large variation in skin color among mestizos, white or European looks are still strongly preferred in Mexican society, with lighter skin receiving more positive attention and foreign cultures such as European ones receiving deference. The concept of white, called güero or blanco in Mexican Spanish, still exists^[17] with it basically referring to those of full or predominantly European heritage.^[2] However, those with the lightest skin in Mexico are generally associated with the well-educated and upper income social classes.^[11] Racial and social distinctions are strongest in Mexico City, where the most powerful of the country's elite are located.^[11]

Complicating the situation is the relationship between the European, and the mestizo population. Racial and ethnic identification is strongly associated with Mexico's history, with descent more of a determining factor than biological traits.^[6][11] Since the Mexican Revolution, the official identity promoted has been mestizo or a mix of European and indigenous, which has affected social and political policy in the country. However, these policies contradict internally and between theory and reality, with European characteristics remaining in favor to this day.^[6] Since 1930, the Mexican government has not included race as part of its census due to an ideology designed to stop making designations among "Mexicans".^[6] Today, there are no official counts, but unofficial estimates put the white population ranging from just under one-tenth of the total^[1] to between one-fifth and one-tenth of the total.^[18][6] In one survey based on self-identification, percentages of whites varied from six to 20 percent depending on when one considered biology, customs and/or origins.^[19] However, due the emphasis put in the mestizo identity and culture (which was installed to eliminate divisions and create a unified identity that would allow Mexico to modernize and integrate into the international community)^[11] a large part of persons biologically white are classified as mestizos by the specialists in the subject, for living in a country with dominant mestizo culture.^[8]

Emilio Azcárraga is the owner of Televisa and one of the richest people in Latin America.^[20]

The lack of a clear defining line between white and mixed race is further blurred by the fact that there is little homogeneity among mestizos, with the lighter skinned being favored, as associated with higher social class, power, money and modernity.^[11][13] Being a moreno (meaning "dark-skinned" in Spanish) is associated with Native American (Indian/Amerindian) origin with its inferior social class and implying submission.^[6][10] There is some correlation between skin color/ethnicity and wealth, with those who mostly identified as white having higher socioeconomic indices such as ownership of durable goods and education levels.^[19] Although on the surface, most Mexicans identify as a mixed-race, the European side is still considered to be superior, with efforts to promote European culture and values over indigenous ones.^[6]

A more recent variation on this cultural and biological preference is malinchismo which means to identify or favor a North American or European culture over the native one. It derives from La Malinche, the native interpreter who allied with Hernán Cortés during the Conquest. The story has strong domination and servitude elements and is still an important social imagery for Mexicans, with a strong preference to those with power. Today, it has morphed into a preference for English given names due to the influence of the United States.^[10]

Idioms of race serve a mediating terms between social groups. "Güero" or "güerito" is used by street vendors to call out to potential customers, sometimes even when the person is not light-skinned. It is used in this instance to initiate a kind of familiarity, but in cases where social/racial tensions are relatively high, it can have the opposite effect.^[11]

European immigration to Mexico

Girls from Zapopan, in the state of Jalisco. Fair-skinned Mexicans are colloquially known as 'güeros' (fem. güeras).

Mexicans of European descent are strongly associated with the history of the Spanish in the country as Mexico has not had the history of mass immigration that other New World countries such as the United States, Brazil and Argentina have had.^[11] The criollos began as the descendants of the conquistadors, which was the supplemented by further immigration from Spain in the colonial era and then from various parts of Europe and European descended peoples from other places in the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century. (The term "criollo" to refer to very light-skinned people remained until the 20th century.)^[13] After Independence, the Criollos took over politics and economic areas formerly banned to them such as mining. They have remained dominant since, especially in Mexico City.^[11][14] The expulsion of the Spanish between 1826 and 1833 kept the European ethnicity from growing as a percentage;^[14] however, this expulsion did not lead to any permanent ban on European immigrants, even from Spain.^[11]

Immigration to Mexico in the 19th and 20th century mostly came from Europe and other countries with European descended populations such as Argentina and the United States. However, at its height, the total immigrant population in Mexico never exceeded twenty percent.^[16] One reason for this was that Mexico lacked large expansions of cultivable land on its mountainous terrain, and what existed was firmly in the hands of the criollo elite. Another was that European immigration after the Mexican War of Independence was both welcomed and feared, a combination of xenophilia and xenophobia, especially to Europeans existing to this day.^[14][16]

The xenophilia toward European and European derived immigrants comes from the country’s association of civilization with European characteristics. After Independence, Liberals among Mexico’s elite blamed the country’s indigenous heritage for its inability to keep up with the economic development of the rest of the world. However, embracing only Mexico’s European heritage was not possible. This led to an effort to encourage European immigrants.^[11] One of these efforts was the dispossession of large tracts of land from the Catholic Church with the aim of selling them to immigrants and others who would develop them. However, this did not have the desired effect mostly because of political instability. The Porfirio Díaz regime of the decades before the Mexican Revolution tried again, and expressly desired European immigration to promote modernization, instill Protestant work ethics and buttress what remained of Mexico’s North from further U.S. expansionism. Díaz also expressed a desire to "whiten" Mexico’s heavily racially mixed population, although this had more to do with culture than with biological traits. However, the Díaz regime had more success luring investors when permanent residents, even in rural areas despite government programs. No more than forty foreign farming colonies were ever formed during this time and of these only a few Italian and German ones survived.^[16]

A photo of Italian immigrants in Monterrey in 1905

From the 19th to the early 20th century, most European foreigners in Mexico were in urban areas, especially Mexico City, living in enclaves and involved in business. These European immigrants would quickly adapt to the Mexican attitude that "whiter was better" and keep themselves separate from the host country. This and their status as foreigners offered them considerable social and economic advantages, blunting any inclination to assimilate. There was little incentive to integrate with the general Mexican population and when they did, it was limited to the criollo upper class. For this reason, one can find non–Spanish surnames among Mexico’s elite, especially in Mexico City, to this day.^[14][16]

However, even when generalized mixing did occur, such as with the Cornish miners in Hidalgo state around Pachuca and Real de Monte, their cultural influence remains strong. In these areas, English style houses can be found, the signature dish is the "paste" a variation of the English pasty^[21] and they ended up introducing football (soccer) to Mexico.^[22] In the early 20th century, a group of about 100 Russian immigrants, mostly Pryguny and some Molokane and Cossacks came to live in area near Ensenada, Baja California. The main colony is in the Valle de Guadalupe and locally known as the Colonia Rusa near the town of Francisco Zarco. Other smaller colonies include San Antonio, Mision del Orno and Punta Banda. There are an estimated 1,000 descendants of these immigrants in Mexico, nearly all of whom have intermarried. The original settlements are now under the preservation of the Mexican government and have become tourist attractions.^[23]

Mexican musician Lynda Thomas is of Welsh descent

By the end of the Porfirian era, Americans, British, French, Germans and Spanish were the most conspicuous Europeans in Mexico but they were limited to Mexico City in enclaves, failing to produce the "whitening" effect desired. This history would mean that Mexico would never become a nation of immigrants, but rather one where a few well-connected newcomers could make a great impact. Despite Diaz’s early efforts at attracting foreign immigration, he reversed course near the end of his government, nationalizing industries dominated by foreigners such as trains. Foreigners were blamed for much of the country’s economic problems leading to restriction. This would cause many foreigners to leave.^[16]

In January 1883, the Government signed a law to promote the Irish, German and French immigration to Mexico.^[24] Up to 1914, 10 000 French settled in Mexico,^[25] and other 100,000 Europeans.^[25]

Ukrainian–born Mexican actress Ana Layevska has lived in Mexico since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Mexican singer Paulina Rubio is of Spanish descent. ^[26]

One reason for the Mexico’s xenophobia was that Europeans and Americans often quickly dominated various industries and commerce in Mexico. By the mid-19th century, there were only 30,000 to 40,000 Caucasian immigrants compared to an overall population of over eight million, but their impact was strongly felt. For example, the Spanish and French came to dominate the textile industry and various areas of commerce, pioneering the industrialization of the country.^[14][16] Various Europeans and Americans also dominated mining, oil and cash crop agriculture. Many of these immigrants were not really immigrants at all, but rather "trade conquistadors" who remained in Mexico only long enough to make their fortunes to return to their home countries to retire.^[16] Large numbers of Americans in Texas, would eventually lead to the secession of that territory.^[14] These two experiences would strongly affect Mexico’s immigration policy to this day, even though Mexico’s total foreign population at its height in the 1930s never exceeded one percent of the total.^[16]

Legal vestiges of attempts to "whiten" the population ended with the 1947 "Ley General de Población" along with the blurring of the lines between most of Mexico immigrant colonies and the general population. This blurring was hastened by the rise of a Mexican middle class, who enrolled their children in schools for foreigners and foreign organizations such as the German Club having a majority of Mexican members. However, this assimilation still has been mostly limited to Mexico’s lighter skinned peoples. Mass culture promoted the Spanish language and most other European languages have declined and almost disappeared. Restrictive immigration policies since the 1970s have further pushed the assimilation process. Despite all of the aforementioned pressure, as of 2013 Mexico is the country with most international immigrants in the world.^[27]

Since 2000, Mexico's economic growth has increased international migration to the country, including people of European descent who leave their countries (particularly France and Spain) in the search of better work opportunities. People from the United States have moved too, now making up more than three-quarters of Mexico's roughly one million documented foreigners, up from around two-thirds in 2000. Nowadays, more people originally from United States have been added to the population of Mexico than Mexicans have been added to the population of the United States, according to government data in both nations.^[28]

Example of ethnic European groups in Mexico

One of the few Porfirian era European settlements to survive to this day is centered on the small town of Chipilo in the state of Puebla. They are the descendants of about 500 Italian immigrants which came over in the 1880s, keeping their Venetian-derived dialect and distinct ethnic identity, even though many have intermarried with other Mexicans. Many still farm and raise livestock but economic changes have pushed many into industry.^[29]

A Mennonite girl in Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua

During the Mexican Revolution, Álvaro Obregón invited a group of German-speaking Mennonites in Canada to resettle in Chihuahua state. By the late 1920s, almost 10,000 had arrived from both Canada and Europe .^[16][30] Today, Mexico accounts for about 42% of all Mennonites in Latin America.^[13] Mennonites in the country stand out because of their light skin, hair and eyes. They are a largely insular community that speaks Plautdietsch and wear traditional clothing. They own their own businesses in various communities in Chihuahua, and account for about half of the state’s farm economy, standing out in cheese production .^[30]

Immigration was restricted by governments after Diaz’s but never stopped entirely during the 20th century. Between 1937 and 1948, more than 18,000 Spanish Republicans arrived as refugees from the Francisco Franco dictatorship. Their reception by the Mexican criollo elite was mixed but they manage to experience success as most of these newcomers were educated as scholars and artists. This group founded the Colegio de Mexico, one of the country’s top academic institutions. Another, smaller group from this time period were Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler. Despite attempts to assimilate these immigrant groups, especially the country’s already existing German population during World War II, they remain mostly separate to this day.^[16]

Due to the 2008 Financial Crisis and the resulting economic decline and high unemployment in Spain, many Spaniards have been emigrating to Mexico to seek new opportunities.^[31] For example, during the last quarter of 2012, a number of 7,630 work permits were granted to Spaniards.^[32]

Sixty-seven percent of Latin America’s English-speaking population lives in Mexico.^[13] Most of these are American nationals, with in influx of people from the U.S. coming to live in Mexico since the 1930s, becoming the largest group of foreigners in the country since then. However, most Americans in Mexico are not immigrants in the traditional sense, as they are there living as retirees or otherwise do not consider themselves permanent residents.^[16][33]

Population studies

The following is a table with data of the 1808, 1885, 1921, and 2000 censuses.^[6] The 1808, 1885, and 1921 censuses divided the population into three racial groups: indigenous (Spanish: indígena), mestizo (Spanish: mestizo), and European (Spanish: europeo).^[6] In the 2000 census the government just asked whether the person felt cultural affiliation to an indigenous community.^[6]

1808 census

This census was conducted during the Viceroyalty of New Spain period. "Españoles" (Spaniards) and "Criollos" (Mexicans maintaining at least 7/8ths Spanish ancestry)^[15] comprised the largest group in percentage in the New Spain's northern territories of Provincias Internas. However this area was sparsely populated in contrast with central areas of the viceroyalty, thus nominal numbers of Spaniards and Criollos were higher in the intendencies of Mexico and Guadalajara.^[34]

1921 census

The Mexican Government asked Mexicans about their perception of their own racial heritage. In the 1921 census, residents of the Mexican Republic were asked if they fell into one of the following categories:^[6]

• "Indígena pura" (of pure indigenous heritage)
• "Indígena mezclada con blanca" (of mixed indigenous and white heritage, the term mestizo itself was never used by the government)
• "Blanca" (of White or Spanish heritage)
• "Extranjeros sin distinción de razas" (Foreigners without racial distinction)
• "Cualquiera otra o que se ignora la raza" (Either other or unknown)

The results were:

1. Pure indigenous heritage: 4,179,449 {29%}
2. Mixed indigenous and white: 8,504,561 {59%}
3. White or Spanish heritage: 1,404,718 (10%)
4. Total population: 14,334,780

This was the last Mexican Census which asked people to self-identify themselves with an heritage other than Amerindian. However, the census had the particularity that, unlike racial/ethnic census in other countries, it was focussed in the perception of cultural heritage rather than in a racial perception, leading to a good number of white people to identify with "Mixed heritage" due cultural influence.^[35]

See also

• Europeans
• White people
• White Latin Americans
• White Argentine
• White Colombians
• White Brazilians
• White Americans
• Indigenous Mexicans
• Afro-Mexicans
• Criollo people
• Castizo
• Gringo

Notes and references

Ancestry and ethnicity in Mexico Mexico Mexican Indigenous (List) Mestizo From Africa Kenyan From the Americas American (Mormon) Argentine Brazilian Canadian Chilean Colombian Cuban Guatemalan Salvadoran Uruguayan Venezuelan From Asia Chinese Filipino Indian Japanese Mexico City Korean From Europe British (Cornish) Czech French German Greek Irish Italian Polish Portuguese Russian Scandinavian Spanish (Basque) From the Middle East Arab (Lebanese) Armenian Turkish From Elsewhere Jewish Mennonite Romani Portal